Page 27 of Forever and Ever

It’s been a week since the tour ended, and when I open the front door, I’m hit once more with that feeling from the first time we met. An overwhelming tug in the pit of my gut that screams out for me to listen. Except, as the months have gone on, it hurts a little more each time. Because Merry never returns it.

“Hey,” she says, looking unusually nervous.

Merry’s in a black cropped T-shirt and cut-off jean shorts that show off the sexy flower tattoos on the front of her thighs. She’s changed out her belly button ring for a spiked stud that the sun hits just right, bringing a little shimmer to the warm skin on her stomach.

There’s that tightening in my chest I’ve become all too familiar with. No matter how much I wish it would dull, it just won’t.

“Hey,” I manage to say, when I realize I’ve probably been staring at her for way too long.

Stepping aside, I wave an arm out to invite her in, and she drags her suitcase behind her.

I close the door and she stops to spin, looking up at me through her overdone eyes, thick with eyeliner. She’s prettier without makeup, but I don’t tell her that because she seems more comfortable in it.

“Thanks again for letting me stay,” she says, pushing her dark curls off her shoulders and nervously wrapping them with her hands like she’s about to put her hair in a ponytail, even though she isn’t.

“Of course.” I walk past her, trying to ignore the tension that fogged the air the second she stepped inside.

There are a lot of things I want right now.

To fuck her.

To love her.

To keep her.

But that’s not what this is, and it’s something I’ve been sure to remind myself.

Merry is staying with me as a friend so she can record a demo, that’s it. She’ll be writing music and recording, while I’ll be working on the next Enemy Muse album. We’ll get our work done, keep our distance, and stay focused.

After all, this is her dream, and I want her to have it.

I might have been a bit of a dick to her when I found out Adrian had offered her time in his studio, but that’s only because she was talking about renting someplace in the city when I have this whole giant house she could stay in. It didn’t even occur to her to ask me. She’d rather have driven an hour each way.

Every time I think I’m making progress or getting close; she shuts me back down.

Merry follows me into the kitchen, and I grab water from the fridge, draining it down my throat and gaining my composure. I reach down inside myself and pull out the character I know the world wants to see, especially Merry. The guy who’s carefree and doesn’t give a shit. It’s what makes them comfortable.

You can do this.

Spinning to face her, I lean against the fridge and force a smile that seems to relax her posture.

She rests her hands on the marble island and looks around. It’s not like she’s never been here before, but it’s almost as if she’s seeing it for the first time when not much has changed. Her eyes take everything in like the sight of it’s brand new.

I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever seen her this nervous.

“How’s the tattoo healing?” I ask, spotting the very bottom edge of it peeking out beneath her cropped T-shirt.

“Good,” she lifts the shirt up a little so I can see it.

That and the bottom of her lacy bra, covering her perfect tits. I don’t think she knows what the sight of her does to me, the way she nonchalantly stands there with her dark nipples peeking through. My self-control is making me question why I asked about the tattoo in the first place.

Because you’re her friend, you care…

Fuck you, brain.

She drops her T-shirt and smiles. “I love it. You did a really great job.”

“Maybe you’ll let me stick you again, then?” I grin.

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